Spring of 2021 marked a change for graduation commencements at Georgia Southern. Faculty were no longer responsible for reading the names of students at ceremonies.
Last December, Paulson Stadium and the Enmarket Arena collectively saw over 1,300 Georgia Southern graduates walk the stage, and each student was able to hear the correct pronunciation of their name.
Marching Order is a company that markets itself as software created to provide universities with pre-recorded voiceovers of students’ names. All students have to do is scan a barcode on their phone or one printed on a slip of paper.
Kendria Lee, who manages the Office of Special Events and Protocol, confirmed that other universities in Georgia including Georgia Tech, Georgia State University and Kennesaw State University have also made the switch to use Marching Order.
“Marching Order was acquired to streamline and improve the quality of the ceremony for both graduates and guests,’ said Lee. “Correct pronunciation of each graduate’s name is very important to us.”
Recent graduate Tony Ortega said his first experience with Marching Order was at the 2023 summer commencement ceremony.
“In the summer graduation I was thrown off a little bit,” said Ortega, but despite the surprise, he viewed the change as a positive effort.
“They had some foreign students with longer names. Names that we don’t see here, and it was reading it really good.”
One issue Ortega did address was the question of where students should hide their phone or paper after they use it to scan their name.
“The entire time I was just thinking what to do with my phone,” said Oretga.
The university responded on this issue with a simple, but effective solution: pockets.
In a press release from the university, they announced that graduates will now wear “custom-designed blue regalia,” which “features a pocket,” so students are able to conceal their phone.
These new gowns will also display special insignia that differentiates between master’s, education specialist and doctoral degree levels.
This marks another big change for Georgia Southern’s graduates. Check back in with the Inkwell for more updates.
